Keep UP Girls in School - Make toilets accessible to them!

Reena’s parents stopped her from going to school, so that they could keep her safe.

Reena’s school had a toilet that was kept locked, forcing her to use an open field instead. Not only was this painfully embarrassing for Reena, it was also extremely dangerous because it left her vulnerable to sexual assault.

I know how hard it is for a young girl to have no access to clean toilets. The bathrooms in my school were so dirty that they were impossible to use.

In summers I would drink less water, just so that I didn’t have to use the loo. When I had my period, I had no place to change and would worry about the embarrassment of staining my uniform.

Like Reena, there are lakhs of girls in Uttar Pradesh who are forced to drop out of school because they don’t have access to toilets.

This is why I have started this petition asking the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that all schools have access to clean toilets. Sign my petition.

Did you know, according to the Annual Status on Education Report 2016, in more than 45% of schools, either the toilets don't exist and if they do they are not in a usable condition. This is one of the reasons why almost 25% girls between the age of 15 and 16 drop out of schools in Uttar Pradesh.

Toilets are a basic necessity, not a luxury.

Lack of access to toilets makes young students vulnerable to health conditions like diarrhoea, worm infections or UTIs which can further hamper their studies.

Secondly, using open areas to defecate leaves young girls extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse.

And the problem gets even worse when girls start menstruating and start skipping school rather than risk the social embarrassment of staining their clothes in public.

Young girls should not be forced to choose between open fields for toilets or dropping out of school.

But with your support, we can change this! Together we can make sure that girls stay in school and both boys and girls get to access clean toilets if you sign this petition.

Hence, with an objective of reducing the dropout rate from schools in Uttar Pradesh I, Krati Prakash, along with Breakthrough appeal to Ms. Anupama Jaiswal, MoS, Basic Education, Uttar Pradesh to make "clean toilets accessible to the students of schools across Uttar Pradesh".